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What Are Older People Negative Attitudes About Aging?

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Ageism is widespread across all age groups according to an independent study by Kite and Johnson (1988, p.54). In fact, negative attitudes emerge very early in life as young as three years old. For some people over the years more permanent negative attitudes become fairly well entrenched. At its most basic level attitude can be reflective of an emotional or cognitive response to a person or group, whereas, stereotypes are traits or specific characteristic expectations for certain groups (Harwood, 2007, p.53). Attitudes often have a social basis, reflecting a person’s past experience with specific social, cultural, and historical contexts. One study found negative attitudes very consistent, even older people demonstrate unconscious negative attitudes about aging. In part, the reality of getting old is embedded from viewing a lifetime of negative television programs and hearing jokes about older people. One explanation attributes social identity theory as a reason we want to view a group in a positive light. As a result, those who are not members of the group may be viewed …show more content…

Martens, Greenberg, Schimel and Landau (2004, p.56) showed that when young people are reminded of their own mortality they had a more negative view of older individuals. Mortality issues may hold true as well for older adults when they think about their age. Another important point to be made with aging has to do with the “double standard” in sex differences. Older men benefit more from positive age stereotypes concerning wisdom and status than older women do. Kogan and Mills, 1992 explanation of aging hinges on the reproductive value of women versus men. Any physical indication of aging or ill health in women would be signs they are less valuable as reproductive partners. Men tend to retain reproductive value well into middle age much better than women

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The media often reinforces two extreme stereotypes of older adults. One extreme stereotype shows the negative aspects by highlighting that old age is plagued by illness and a high dependence on others. The other extreme stereotype highlights the seniors that are doing exceptionally well by showing that they are completely independent, finally stable, and maintained a youthful look and persona. These portrayals do not represent the life challenges and successes of the mass majority of aging adults. Older adults are rarely represented in the media, so how they are represented truly matters to their overall image and approach to aging.

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The result shows that 46 or 92% of the elderlies wished that they had more respect to themselves. Forty or 80% of them said that they sometimes pity themselves while 34 or 68% of them perceived that they have little or sometimes nothing to help their family and friends. In addition, 33 or 66% of elderlies said that they are not happy with their accomplishments in life while 32 or 64% of them perceived that they do not have capabilities and good qualities that they can be proud of and shared that they find it difficult to accept the changes happening in themselves at the present moment. Moreover, 28 or 56% of the elderlies shared that they often think and wish that they are in other people’s condition while half of them (50%) think and feel that they are useless. Further, despite of the adversities experienced in later life, 32 or 64% of elderlies didn’t think that they

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